Bathing your kids - all on same day?

amother

Mauve

Mon, May 09 2016, 8:49 pm

For those of you who have a few little kids and you don't bathe them every night:

Do you bathe all the kids on the same night and get it over with, having a night free of baths completely?
Or do you alternate, for example; 2 on Sunday, other 2 Monday, first 2 Tuesday, etc. so that the bathroom isn't tied up for so long?

greenfire

Mon, May 09 2016, 9:06 pm

rotating kids - a new one

what happens when you all go to the beach or park ...

might I suggest quick baths most nights because clean kids are more relaxed and sleep better

amother

Scarlet

Mon, May 09 2016, 9:38 pm

I usually do two a night cuz all four the same night means a very late bedtime for them. I am one mommy and all four are young and need me to bathe or shower them and do bedtime.

LiLIsraeli

Mon, May 09 2016, 9:48 pm

amother wrote:

I do all four the same night. Indont have the strength to do it every day.

Same.

amother

Mauve

Mon, May 09 2016, 10:05 pm

I used to do all three the same day. Now I BH have a baby too and bath nights are getting very overwhelming.

For those who do all in one night, what time do you start?

oliveoil

Mon, May 09 2016, 10:09 pm

why is it taking so long? Are you giving each kid a separate bath? Most people stick in a few kids together, so it really doesn't take any longer doing more kids at once.

amother

Mauve

Mon, May 09 2016, 10:12 pm

oliveoil wrote:

why is it taking so long? Are you giving each kid a separate bath? Most people stick in a few kids together, so it really doesn't take any longer doing more kids at once.

yes. each kid separate. I bathed the boys together until I once saw something I didn't like and since then they go separately. I dont wanna bathe either of them with my dd. baby is obviously separate

mha3484

Mon, May 09 2016, 10:16 pm

Not all kids want to bathe together. My 5 1/2 year old has no interest in bathing with his brother who is 1 1/2 years old. I would never force it. I am currently teaching the older one to shower and it's making my life much easier.

amother

Bisque

Mon, May 09 2016, 10:21 pm

when I do all 4 the same night, I just bathe them 2x a week (unless someone really needs another bath). For some reason, when I spread it out, I find that someone gets lost in the shuffle and ends up skipping his bath. When it's official "bath night", no one gets away with it. I like to start at around 6pm on bath nights. Between baths and bedtime I'm not really done till close to 9 (tonight a drop earlier 8:30). I do not bathe them all together, although at one point I did bathe 2 together. I find it much more hygienic and keeps them from catching anything from each other. But it sure does take way longer.

tweety1

Tue, May 10 2016, 12:35 am

I do same night all of them. Each kid separately. I would never stick a few kids into one bath. Yuck!

oliveoil

Tue, May 10 2016, 12:52 am

Well this is eye opening. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't bathe kids together. But I also do not remotely understand not bathing nightly, so maybe they're related.

gold21

Tue, May 10 2016, 1:23 am

Everyone is washed up on the same night, 3 times a week. Extra baths as needed (if a kid looks like he/she needs a bath, he/she gets a bath, even if its not officially a bath night- this comes up more in the summer months, when I usually end up bathing a lot more frequently)

My oldest now showers on his own every night, no reminders needed. He started this recently. At his age it makes sense to start more adult-like showering habits.

DrMom

Tue, May 10 2016, 1:46 am

tweety1 wrote:

I do same night all of them. Each kid separately. I would never stick a few kids into one bath. Yuck!

I sometimes bathe 2 of the little kids together, assuming they are not filthy. Why "yuck?"

Baths are only once/week for any child over about 4-5 years old -- because they I give them showers every day/every other day. Of course, if they are old enough to shower themselves, they do it on their own.

CEF

Tue, May 10 2016, 4:34 am

I actually think that bathtime is a highly educational time in our family. I bath kids together every night (minus maybe 1-2 nights per week occasionally when I'm too exhausted). They learn to share the space, share the bath toys, be respectful of each other's bodies, learn about physical anatomy (!! - is that so terrible, if they are still young??), learn about safety in water, learn about hygiene, etc. I should add that mine are boys aged 4+6. If I think about how smelly teenage boys are then I am quite happy if I set a standard of washing every night...
And yes, they are sometimes inappropriate but I warn them that they have to get out of the bath if they continue. And they love their bath too much for that....

chouli

Tue, May 10 2016, 4:55 am

I have 5 kids who normally bathe on the same night. the oldest one takes a shower (almost) by himself. The baby takes his bath earlier in the evening, and the other three go quickly one after another in the tub. I don't bath them every day, though.

Ema of 5

Tue, May 10 2016, 6:50 am

mha3484 wrote:

I have three kids (9, almost 7, and 4) with one on the way. (I am due next week) My kids all know how to shower already. I don't have the strength to sit there bathing each one. My oldest one takes care of himself. The other two I give the soap to and supervise them washing themselves. In the winter they get 3x a week, in the summer more often because they are more active and get physically dirtier from being outside.

flowerpower

Tue, May 10 2016, 7:39 am

All the same night. It's much easier for me that way. Some already shower on their own. Bathing 2 kids together is totally not yuck.

lfab

Tue, May 10 2016, 8:59 am

They all get baths/showers on the same night. In the winter 3x per week and in the summer nightly. Now that the 2 older ones basically shower themselves it's much easier. Oldest just needs help turning water on and does the rest herself and my second I just double check to make sure she got all her shampoo out at the end. I do the younger 2 kids. We start bath time right after supper, so about 5:45, and it takes about an hour total for all 4 of them to be bathed/showered.